Results tagged ‘ Chase Utley ’
The Law of Averages
Chase Utley doesn’t say much, but when he talks he can make a lot of sense.
During those seasons when the Phillies had the best offense in the National League, they had slumps like every team. And during those slumps reporters would ask Utley about all the runners they left on base. He normally would say something like, “Yeah, we’d love to score every runner we put on base, but the important thing is we’re getting runners on. If we keep doing that eventually we’re going to score.”
Like, Guys, it’s the law of averages. Relax. Seriously.
(I remember people wanted the Phillies to play small ball during those seasons because they relied too much on the home run. That sounds so ridiculous right now, doesn’t it?)
The Phillies left lots of runners on base during those seasons because they put lots of runners on base.
That’s not happening early this season.
Don’t Look at Galvis, Look Elsewhere
Freddy Galvis started his big-league career 0-for-12, but with one swing he picked up one quarter of his team’s RBIs.
That’s how anemic the Phillies offense has been.
He has one hit and has knocked in two of his team’s eight runs.
Galvis has been getting a lot of attention since the season started. First, he is replacing Chase Utley. Second, he could not get a hit until the fourth game of the season. Third, the entire offense is struggling. All of a sudden a rookie second baseman who is keeping the position warm until Utley returns (whenever that is: May? June? July?) became the focal point of the offense. What are they going to do with this guy? They can’t continue to play him there! Why don’t they start Pete Orr or Ty Wigginton at second base? Can they make a trade? When is Utley coming back?!?!
Galvis Watch: Day 2
Who expected a bruised left foot for Freddy Galvis would be such a big deal in late March?
Galvis, who seemed very unlikely to make the Opening Day roster before camp opened last month, is expected to be the team’s everyday second baseman while Chase Utley recovers from his chronically injured knees. But then Galvis fouled a pitch off the top of his left foot in yesterday’s game against the Pirates, suffering a bruise and making people fear the worst.
“I feel much better today,” Galvis said this morning.
Galvis, who was walking without a limp, said a team doctor examined him in the morning.
“Everything was good,” he said.
Galvis had been scheduled to take the trip to Fort Myers to play the Twins in a Grapefruit League game this afternoon, but there is no reason to push his health, considering Utley, Ryan Howard and Michael Martinez already are opening the season on the disabled list.
Galvis said he hopes he can play as early as Thursday.
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here!
Here are our upcoming book signings:
- April 2: Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 3: Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 26: Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ, 7 p.m.
The Utley Confusion
There have been a lot of questions regarding Chase Utley’s injured knees.
Ruben Amaro Jr. tried to answer them yesterday.
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The Phillies optioned left-hander Jake Diekman to Minor League camp this morning. They also reassigned right-handers Scott Elarton and Brian Sanches. Diekman and Elarton opened some eyes this camp.
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here!
Here are our upcoming book signings:
- April 2: Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 3: Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 26: Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ, 7 p.m.
Utley: No Surgery, No Retirement, I’ll Be Back
Chase Utley spoke to reporters just a few minutes ago.
Here are the highlights:
UTLEY OPENS WITH A STATEMENT: I was in Phoenix meeting with a physical therapist by the name of Brett Fischer for about four or five days, just to get some better ideas on how I can continue to move forward. I have a better idea now on how my body is supposed to move compared to how it’s moving at this time, and I think we have something pretty good for the future.
Q: Which is?
A: Obviously, I’m not going to be ready for opening day. I don’t really have a timeline on when I will be available. I will take this process fairly slow because I think it’s important to get everything around my knees working correctly. And I think it’s going to take a little bit of time. I’m disappointed. I’m upset. I’m not happy that I’m in this situation right now, but I’m not going to let that deter me and get me down. I think that going out to Arizona to talk to Brett, we came up with some better things to do. Some things I’ve already been doing. Some other stretches, some other manual theraphy, some other things that I think will definitely help.
Q: Chronic problem you’ll always have to mange?
A: I think once we get everything around my knees working correctly, I don’t know if it will be a problem. I’ve already seen benefits over the last four or five days from doing some new exercises. I’m very optimistic this is going to turn out well. But again it’s going to take a little time and I have to do this right. I think it’s important, not only for this year, but for the rest of my career. I’m 33 years old. I know some people think that’s old, but I still feel like I have a lot of baseball left in me.
Q: How is this different and similar to last year?
A: It’s fairly similar. My right knee last year was the knee that bothered me. And my left knee felt pretty good. This year it’s the complete opposite. My right knee feels very good, which is in my mind a positive. But now my left knee is a little upset. So we made osme changes last year to my right knee. It worked because it feels strong. It feels good. Now I have to make similar changes to my left knee. Again, it’ll take a little time to see how it goes.
Q: Better or worse than last year? If better, back earlier than last year?
A: Again, I’m not going to put any type of limit on this. I’m going to kind of go at the pace that my knee tells me. If it feels good I’m going to continue to forward. If it starts to act up I’m going to slow it down a little bit. But as far as pain, last year I was in more pain.
Utley Speaks … Later
Chase Utley is scheduled to speak to reporters later this morning.
Hopefully, we’ll learn a little about his health.
Hopefully.
I’ll have more later, so check back …
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here!
Here are our upcoming book signings:
- April 2: Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 3: Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 26: Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ, 7 p.m.
Bye Bye Boot
Ryan Howard said Tuesday he hoped to lose the protective boot on his left foot sometime in the next two weeks.
But he showed up this morning at Bright House Field without the boot and worked out without the boot. Good news? Well, it’s not bad news, which has been coming every day lately for the Phillies infield. Placido Polanco sprained his left ring finger Saturday, although he took batting practice Thursday. Chase Utley left the team Monday to have an unknown specialist in an undisclosed location – although he had been spotted this week in the Phoenix area – look at his bad knees. Utility infielder Michael Martinez then broke his right foot Tuesday, leaving the Phillies incredibly thin in the infield.
So a bootless Howard is arguably the best news the Phillies have received in a while. He had surgery to repair his ruptured left Achilles in October. He had been progressing nicely, but an infection developed last month, which required a second surgical procedure to remove sutures that had not dissolved. Howard had been in the boot for more than three weeks to let the second wound heal.
“I don’t think it really set me back,” Howard insisted. “Because I think the biggest concern was my tendon and the tendon was never an issue. The tendon was repaired in October. So even with me not doing what I was doing before from a rehab standpoint, the tendon is still getting stronger, a little bit every day. So now I can get back to doing more strength-training stuff. So I don’t think it was really a setback at all. … It’s one of those things where I’ve looked at it as a blessing in disguise”
Who Hits Third?
Chase Utley is going to open the season on the disabled list because of bad knees. That means the team needs a new No. 3 hitter …
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here!
Here are our upcoming book signings:
- April 2: Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 3: Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 26: Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ, 7 p.m.
Utley Leaves Camp, Knees Remain Issue
This isn’t good news:
Ruben Amaro Jr. released the following statement this morning regarding Chase Utley.
“Chase’s rehab process has come to a bit of a plateau. He has made some strides but not enough to take the field. He is headed out of town for a few days to be evaluated by a specialist that has helped athletes overcome his issue. We anticipate that this trip will allow him to build on what he has already done with Scott Sheridan in order to get over the hump. He wants more than anything to be on the field with his teammates and we believe that this is a step in that direction.”
Amaro had more to say later. Read the story HERE.
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Jim Salisbury and I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here!
Here are our upcoming book signings:
- March 19: Bright House Field in Clearwater, FL, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- April 2: Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 3: Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 26: Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ, 7 p.m.
Utley: Hope To Be On Field Next Week
As I wrote the last couple days, there has been very little information regarding Chase Utley‘s chronic right knee condition.
But Utley stopped briefly today to say this: “We’re making progress. I hope to be on the field next week.”
That’s all I’ve got, but that’s more than he has said since he last talked about his condition Feb. 23. Does being on the field mean he will be in a Grapefruit League game next week? Or does it mean he will start taking fielding practice? We will see next week, but maybe Utley will be ready by Opening Day, which the Phillies have maintained since the beginning of spring.
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Attention Phillies fans in Clearwater: Jim Salisbury and I will be signing copies of The Rotation from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Monday at Bright House Field. Stop by!
Check out what some people have said about the book: Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. *
Salisbury and nd I co-authored the book The Rotation, which is now available. Check it out here!
Here are our upcoming book signings:
- March 19: Bright House Field in Clearwater, FL, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- April 2: Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 3: Chester County Book Company in West Chester, PA, 7 p.m.
- April 26: Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ, 7 p.m.
Todd Zolecki
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